


falling and getting back up

by syuuper



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcohol Withdrawal, Drabble, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Recovery, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 05:18:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17656646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syuuper/pseuds/syuuper
Summary: Tom realizes he has a problem.





	falling and getting back up

Three pm is when Tom starts drinking. Every day, just as the hour turns, he's already reaching for his flask. He's better at hiding his drunkeness as the years pass, until the others could almost imagine he's sober.

But he never smiles when he's sober anymore. He doesn't reach out to punch Matt's shoulder (not as lightly as he means to), or ruffle Tord's hair, or stick his hands in Edd's sleeves. When he's sober, he sits in his room, alone, with music blasting. It's almost nice when he's drunk. Almost, if they ignore the horrid glazed-over sickly look on his face, or the alcohol on his breath, or how it feels too… loose. Uncontrolled. 

When he's really tanked, he goes sullen and quiet between bouts of mania. It's disquieting at the very least, and incredibly sad on top of that.

It's 3 pm when he reaches for his flask, on Saturday. It's 2 pm when he starts on Sunday. On Monday he mixes his morning coffee with tequila and it barely settles in his stomach for five minutes before his head is over the toilet bowl.

… On Tuesday, at 3 pm, he doesn't leave his room, the sounds of Susan being played for the first time in years coming from his closed door. On Wednesday, he has three beers with his nachos. On Thursday he's a shaking, pale mess, curled up on the bathroom floor. He looks worse on Friday. 

On Saturday, Tom clings to Edd's hoodie, with his face buried in the green fabric, and speaks for the first time in a week.

“I'm not happy.”

“I know.” Edd rubs his back.

“I haven't been happy in a long time.”

He pauses, lifts his head to look Edd in the eyes. “I want to be happy again.”

Edd offers what he hopes is a reassuring smile. “We're all here to help.”

The smile that crosses Tom's face then, is unlike anything Edd has seen in so long. It's like seeing the first sign of Spring after a hard, cold Winter. “I know.”


End file.
